A Lion's Pain
by pokedawnheart
Summary: Just a one-shot about a theory I had about Leo carrying his Gate Key during his three year exile. Rated for mention of abuse.


**Okay, first one-shot ever written is now complete! I actually thought of this the first time I watched the Loke arc with one of my cousins. I just thought it was a cute idea.**

 **Enjoy!**

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This was the last time that Leo would allow Karen to abuse Aries. He closed Aries' Gate and opened his own, ready for what he knew had to come. It went as he knew it would, but he was more determined to win this contest. After all, Karen wasn't that strong though she had many keys and Leo knew she wouldn't be able to hold out. Right as he was leaving, a thought struck him and he took his Gate Key from her lax hand to make sure she couldn't close his Gate when he didn't suspect it.

The church ruins was the best place to wait for Karen to finally give in. Sheltered, out of town and, more importantly, away from her. Though he didn't really know how long he could stay in the Human World with his magic, he did know that he'd fare better than most other spirits he knew. He was the Leader of the Twelve Zodiac, the second strongest Celestial Spirit. He knew it would be hard to wait Karen out, as it was painful for a spirit to be in the Human World for more then a few hours at best, but memories of her abusing poor Aries and the rest of the spirits contracted to her made his blood boil in rage and while he knew he could do nothing for most of the spirits, he could do something for himself and Aries.

In the end, it took three months for Karen to cave. Just, not in the way Leo wanted. When Guildmaster Bob came to tell him the news, Leo knew exactly what was going to happen to him. The Spirit King wouldn't see this as Leo trying to protect his brothen from future abuse, he would see it as Leo being responsible for Karen's death and would thus exile him from the Celestial Spirit World. As guilt started to overtake him, he knew that this was only the beginning of his slow, painful death.

And within his suit pocket, Leo still had his Gate Key from when he had taken it from her to keep her from forcing him back through the Gate.

It took him three days to come up with a plan on how to live what life he had left. He was a combat spirit, built for battle, it wasn't like him to just stay in one place all the time. Since he could still use his magic, he could pass as a Holder-Type Mage and join a Guild, which would keep him occupied until the time came. The only question he faced was which one? Blue Pegasus was out because everyone there knew who he was and any new members would be told. He also wanted one that didn't have a Celestial Mage, thereby lessening the chance of them knowing who he was. Not only that, it also meant that he wouldn't see more spirits being abused by their Key Holder. Master Bob told him about Fairy Tail in Magnolia when he heard about the lion spirit's plan, and Leo couldn't really find fault in it.

To finish his plans, he used some transformation magic to change his hair style from looking like a lion's mane to something more cub-like. His suit was replaced by more simple clothes, his Key transferred over to his new jacket's pocket. To hide his true age, which always showed in his eyes, he got a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses. The only other thing he changed before leaving the ruins was his name. He knew not many people were named after the constellations, so when he joined Fairy Tail a month later, he joined under the name 'Loke'.

It was a good three years of no problems until the day Natsu brought a new Mage to join. At first, Leo saw no problem in the new girl and tried to flirt with her, as he had gained a reputasion as a playboy shortly after joining in order to futher distract himself. But one look at her Gate Keys sent him running in fear.

Fate just had to be cruel to him once more. He knew that he was dying, and now a Celestial Mage had joined the Guild and from what little he heard, she was as caring as they come. From the breif glance he got, she had seven Keys; Aquarius, Cancer, Taurus, Crux, Horologium, Lyra and Nikora. It made him wish that his and Aries' Keys had ended up in her hands instead of Karen's, but he knew that it was impossible. He was exiled from the Spirit World and he didn't know who ended up with Aries' Key. As he heard Mira tell Lucy about the rumor that came about (well, he _did_ sometimes flirt with his Key Holder if she was cute), Leo resolved not to let Lucy know. And the best way to go about it was to aviod her at any cost.

That body-switching spell that Levy accidently cast nearly sent Leo into a panic since _Natsu_ was in _his_ body! He knew that Natsu felt weird in his body because he voiced it. He had managed to keep who he really was a secret for three long years, and he didn't want it to come to light _now_. After the spell was reveresed, Leo sigh a breath of relief. Though it was painful in his own body, at least he didn't have to worry about his true identity coming out before he faded away.

Laying on his bed in his rented apartment, Leo took off his sunglasses (which he was becoming slightly attacted to) and took out his Gate Key as he did every night. Memories and questions burned inside him, but he couldn't express any of them. Where he was once a proud lion, now he had been reduced to a weak cub, as proven by that day's events. Phantom Lord had tried to kidnap Lucy in order to bring her back to her father. He had tried to stop Gajeel from taking her a second time, but his time was almost up. One of the other mages had locked him in a mirror prison after he fell from the roof. It was enough for the once proud lion spirit to finally trully admit to himself that he was no longer able to keep his form. His life-force was almost gone.

 _"Why don't you just die already!"_

Karen's angry scream echoed in his head for what felt like the millonth time since her death.

"It's going to happen soon Karen," Leo whispered. And it was the truth.

It was a surprise to meet up with Team Natsu at Fort Term while on a job. At this point, he realized that he was avioding Lucy for more than to keep his secret safe, but more to keep his heart protected. However, fate once again didn't go with his wishes since he found the wizards he was looking for trying to seduce Lucy. After knocking them out, Lucy suggested that they get some food while she waited for the 'pillow fight' between her teammates to be over. They ended up talking after the ackward first few minutes where, in desire to not let Lucy anywhere near the truth, he sat as far away from her as he politely could.

Right when she was leaving, Leo was grabbed by the urge to tell her. After doing so, in horror that he let it slip, he played it off as a pick-up line because he knew Lucy wouldn't look more into it if she thought that. The slap she gave him in anger before leaving was well deserved. But when she was dragging her friend's Exeed and Nikora, whom she called Plue, away, Nikora gave Leo a regetful and pleading look, being able to sense that his time was nearly done.

The next day, he couldn't stop himself from watching her from afar. When he approached her that night after she was finished in the bathhouse, he left slip another thing about who he truly was. Thankfully for him, Lucy came to the conclusion that he must have been flirting with her again and he was able to walk away to finalize his plan; quit Fairy Tail and journey to Karen's gave so that he could finally fade away.

But that didn't work out for him _either_. Lucy found out through Crux that he once was connected to Karen and thanks to his two comments she was able to figure out who he was and where he had gone. He confessed to his crime when she asked why he didn't return to the Spirit World after Karen's death. He told her the story about trying to save Aries but failing because Karen took a job while he was on earth, thereby killing her. Lucy argued that his actions shouldn't have gotten him exiled, almost killing herself in the attempt to save him.

When the Spirit King arrived, Lucy seemed to argue more fiercely to change Leo's fate. It took maybe ten minutes before Lucy got what she wanted. In order to try and repent for what happened to Karen, Leo was ordered to give his Gate Key to Lucy and protect her with his life. Once the Spirit King was gone, Leo gave Lucy his Key, which he had kept throughout his exile, and finally returned home, knowing that his future looked brighter than it did before.

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 **How was it? I actually thought it was odd that Leo didn't take his Key from Karen in order to prevent her from returning him to the Spirit World by force once he had tired himself out a little. And actually if you notice, right before Leo took Lucy's hand after the Spirit King left he had his hand in his jacket pocket, so it works!**

 **I promise that I will update my other stories, I just need a little more time and feedback!**

 **Also, did anyone catch my Leo x Lucy pairing hints? They are one of my favorite pairings, though I could do Leo x Aries. But then again, Leo seems more like an older brother to Aries while Lucy actually gave him a reason to live, so yeah. Plus, i just think that Leo with Lucy is cuter.**

 **I know this didn't have much dialouge, but it was really just an overveiw of events. That, and I can't accurately put in dialouge while listening to it.**

 **~pokedawnheart**


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